2005 was certainly a memorable year here at Stone…in fact it might have been the most memorable yet! Back in 1996 Greg and Steve started at a pace of little by little and now that has become a staggering tempo of leaps and bounds. For your handy reference, we recapped the year’s happenings in a handy little thing called…get ready for this…the 2005 Stone Year In Review.

Our genius takes many forms.

We have a new home here in sunny Escondido, CA as all non-under-a-rock dwellers know. We made the transition into our beautiful new brewery over the Christmas holiday and are now enjoying the sparkling new digs. Along with the move came some new hours, a new name, and a mileStone.

In the past we had a “gift shop” and now we have the Stone Company Store (yes, we are feeling especially clever with that name), and some very expanded hours. We are currently open for growler fills, keg sales and all kinds of merchandise purchases Monday-Friday, Noon to 6:00pm and on Saturdays from 11:00am until 5:00pm! During those times we now have established tours that take place M-F at 2:00pm and 4:00pm (1:00pm & 3:00pm on Saturdays).

Furthermore we recently celebrated another landmark here at Stone. The one-year anniversary of Greg’s vBlogs! For some of us here it seems like an eternity, but in reality it has been only a year that Greg has been sticking his camera in as many faces as possible…just ask John Belcher! One of the most watched vBlogs (to date) is of our move, the amazing efforts of our team, and the first bottling of Arrogant Bastard Ale at the new brewery…check it out

Ten years of brewing great beer has allowed us to save up lots and lots of cool Stone memorabilia. So, in true Stone fashion we have come up with another fantastic fundraiser to celebrate 10 Years of the Stone Brewing Co.

“Stone’s 10th Anniversary Charity Auctions” will be taking place each and every month on eBay. We’ve opened the archives, cleaned out closets, and raided GK’s office to dig up some serious items that we’ll sell to raise money for charity. Everything will have to do with the history of Stone: a comprehensive bottle collection, crown sets, glassware collections, tap handle collections, VIP dinners at the new brewery, and more!

Good luck on the bidding!

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We originally announced that the 2006 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine would come out on January 30th, however that has changed! Seems that a new brewery kinda got in the way…The 2006 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine will now hit shelves on Monday, February 27th so change those calendars!

Your tastebuds are counting on you to check the Stone website and memorize the distribution list so you can treat them to yet another Stone Special Release. This beer is one to age in your cellar, beer ‘fridge, or someplace cool (50ish), upright, and dark.

Don’t forget about the Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine Specialty Glasses. The wallop of malt character matched with a Stone-esque amount of hops immediately tells you the Old Guardian is no standard barley wine. The Specialty Glass designed for it is equally distinctive, with a sharp angular profile that immediately tells you that this too is no standard goblet. You have no excuses to drink it out of anything else.

Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens ---
Great Things Come To Those Who Wait

By now most of you know that we are adding a very exciting element to our new brewery in Escondido: the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens. Our new restaurant will feature an amazing selection of regional cuisine as well as an eclectic variety from around the world. In addition to the world-class menu, we will boast a dazzling array of 32 draft beers, and a wide variety of bottled beer.

When we first announced plans for the Bistro, it was scheduled to open some time after the first of the year. Well that is still correct…just a little later in the year than we had anticipated. Current construction and design plans have us looking at opening the doors sometime in the “Spring.” When exactly you might ask? If we knew, we’d tell you. What we can tell you is to stay tuned to the Stone website, build up an appetite, and get ready for a part of Stone you’ve never seen before!

Stone Will Celebrate
The Big 10 On Nine-Nine, Copy?

Are you an early riser, or an afternoon type of person? Since you’re all invited to the Stone 10th Anniversary Celebration & Invitational Beer Festival on Saturday, September 9th you need to start deciding now which session you’ll be attending. Here’s why: for this year's event we are breaking the event into two different sessions (like last year).

Our annual event will once again be benefiting some very Worthy, local charities: the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos, Palomar Family YMCA, the Surfrider Foundation, and Fight ALD!

Since this is our 10-year bash, we are planning on having the most guest breweries we've ever had, tons of great food, homebrewed sodas, and lots, lots more.

AS WITH RECENT YEARS, THE EVENT IS 21 AND OVER ONLY ---SORRY, BUT NO CHILDREN CAN BE ADMITTED.